Here is a quick roundup of new interviews with the cast and crew to make the next few hours a little shorter.

The Hollywood Reporter has released a few new tantalizing quotes from their interview with Director Alex Graves. Graves teases tonight’s new episode, saying that “Episode three is in part an aftermath episode, where you settle and everything takes a turn toward the second half of the season.” He also reveals that the episode contains “one of the best speeches in the series.”

Access Hollywood shared interviews with a number of cast members this week.

Pedro Pascal’s Oberyn Martell got to verbally spar with Cersei and Tywin Lannister in last week’s episode. Pedro says that shooting that scene was “really intense for me… because I watch the show, and I was in the middle of watching Season 3 when I had an audition for it, and I, as an audience member, feared those characters very much. And then, [on the show,] I found myself in the position of stepping up to them at their royal wedding. ”When asked what’s next for Oberyn, Pedro says that the aftermath of Joffrey’s wedding may prove to be an advantage. “It’s like a bomb that goes off at the very, very beginning of something and all of the remnants… get to stick around, and Oberyn just sort of has this – within the aftermath — he has more opportunity to like continue his agenda in the chaos of Joffrey’s obvious murder.” Pedro also discusses his friendship with co-star Lena Headey, and his choice to make Oberyn more exotic.

Polliver may be the first person Arya got to cross off her list, but Maisie Williams reveals he won’t be the last. “The hint would be there are more people that are gonna get crossed off the list. … That’s kind of the biggest hint I can give and more of that — this new Arya.” Maisie says that Arya is doing much better with The Hound as a companion, compared to Gendry and Jaqen, who softened her, “I think she realizes that actually, they were great and… she learned a lot, but they weren’t effective, if you understand what I mean.” Maisie also talks about the bond she has formed with Rory McCann, and the musical gift he gave her last year.

Dragonstone made its debut in last Sunday’s episode, and Liam Cunningham says that Davos isn’t feeling so good, as he struggles to redeem himself in the eye’s of Stannis. “The boss is not happy. Progress has been slow. … Something has to be done and because we don’t have any sort of money, any sort of credibility, it’s all gone downhill. And not only that, my credibility is shot. As Melisandre has said, it’s all gone horribly wrong since Blackwater, so something’s gotta click. I’m looking for a good idea here to try and save the day, to try and get us back in the game.”He’ll ge a bit of help from his newly acquired reading skill. Liam says, “it’s going to help out significantly. As it does in real life, when you start to learn to read, all sorts of beautiful things open up to you.” He also discusses Melisandre’s influence, and how the fans and his co-stars on other projects have reacted to the show’s increasing popularity.

In a new interview with IGNSibel Kekilli talks about the love triangle that Shae has found herself in. “I think she really loves Tyrion, and she really loves Sansa. But of course she’s still a woman.And she’s really afraid to lose him, because she knows how women are. Even though he sees her as a small girl, you never know. He gets the pressure from his father.”Sibel says that she believes Shae is a good person, but when pushed far enough, is capable of bad things. “I think maybe one time the border is just — do you know what I mean? If you overstep and hurt her very, very much, some people can really get crazy. I don’t know how you act, but if someone hurt me, I’m really impulsive. I wouldn’t think. Maybe in that moment I would just react — not to hate someone, but just without thinking, say something to hurt back. So I think it’s really hard. You never can be sure.”

Sibel also talks about having to create her own background for Shae, filming last week’s very difficult scene, her favorite Thrones character, and more.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has been hard at work on the promotional trail for his new film ‘The Other Woman.’ Which means we get new interviews talking about Game of Thrones!Nikolaj sat down with Access Hollywood to talk about how Game of Thrones has changed his life, and his reaction to the show’s double season renewal.

Nikolaj also sat down with Extra, he teases what we can expect from the Lannisters in Season 4, and recounts a bizarre naked fan encounter.

Nikolaj stopped by The Queen Latifah Show, he gives insight into his character Jaime Lannister:

Or Jon maybe? Considering the line we already have from the promo. My first thought was it would be Tyrion’s “I am guilty…” vitriol. But it doesn’t really qualify either, and it’ll most likely be in a Sakharov episode.

jentario:
No no. That moment will happen in episode 7. When Oberyn comes to tell Tyrion he’ll be his champion, after Shae’s betrayal.

There are a few visitors to his cell before that moment though. But yeah, it’s probably a big speech before the Meereen siege. Then again, I read that the Hound gives Arya a “life lesson” in this episode.

Standing up to Alliser Thorne won’t be Jon’s only challenge, Kit says that Jon will also be forced to step out of his silent brooding comfort zone. When trying to inspire the men of the Night’s Watch to stand up against a Wildling invasion, a speech is in order.

“This season he had a speech and it felt very weird and unnatural playing Jon Snow for three years — he’s such a silent character — for him to make a stirring speech. It was very well written, you can tell he doesn’t want to do it but he has no choice.”

We get super tough Dany in this episode. So it’s obviously going to be a badass speech from her. So long as it is in High Valyrian it should be good. If it was up to me, Dany would only speak High Valyrian.

Are Biter and Rorge on Arya’s list? It sounds (reads) like she is saying that Arya will kill more people this season but they are the only two i can see her killing (Biter and Rorge appearing in Arya’s arc makes more sense than them showing up in Briennes)

Well, Joffrey was on her list. And so was Tywin. She doesn’t have to personally kill them to cross them off of her list. The only other one on her list that she could possibly kill herself is The Hound.

I wonder how in god’s name Jon could justify taking a force away from Castle Black just to settle a dept with the mutineers while there’s a band of Wildlings running about and attacking villages that pose an actual threat.

Man, I’ve tried everything I could think of, all the way up to downloading Chrome, but this site and my iPhone
just do not get along anymore. As I’ve said in the past, the mobile version is just utterly fucked on here. It’s constantly zoomed in too much or something and as a result I only get the leftmost half of anything with no way to look at the rest, and I can’t find a way to view the full version anymore either, so… shit.

Thankfully most of the links wind up on “my” side of the screen, so I’ll pray that continues, but dammit all to seven hells.

I wonder how in god’s name Jon could justify taking a force away from Castle Black just to settle a dept with the mutineers while there’s a band of Wildlings running about and attacking villages that pose an actual threat.

Do you think they’ll do it like in the books where Oberyn offers to Tyrion in private or do you think they’ll keep the surprise for when Oberyn stands up in the throne room? Either way I can’t wait to see everyone’s shock and the look of doubt in Cersei’s eyes.

Veltigar:
And yuk at the Sybel’s take on Shae “she really loves Tyrion, she really loves Sansa”.

That’s not really Sibel’s take on Shae, it’s the show’s take on Shae. She’s just following the writing (whilst some viewers have been trying to spin the character’s actions as being more in line with the book version, or various theories they have about the book version).

All the Shae scenes will be worth it when we get to see Tyrion strangle her.

I can’t wait :D

Sean C.: That’s not really Sibel’s take on Shae, it’s the show’s take on Shae.She’s just following the writing (whilst some viewers have been trying to spin the character’s actions as being more in line with the book version, or various theories they have about the book version).

…It’s Sybel’s take on Shae as informed by the show. I don’t blame her for following the writing. That’s why I followed up with “Shae must be the worst written character on the show”. You know, I pointed out who the main culprits of this particular fuck-up are.

Of course she loves them, she is shae the funny lovable whore, bronn-slapper and secret stark loyalist.

:'(

Josey Wales: Now remember, when things look bad and it looks like you’re not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. ‘Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor cast Mads Mikkelsen as Euron. That’s just the way it is.

Why? Because she’s different from the books? That was the whole point. Show Shae is much better then book Shae, I just hope they don’t change her fate. It seems likely that they will stay true to the books now.

Do you think they’ll do it like in the books where Oberyn offers to Tyrion in private or do you think they’ll keep the surprise for when Oberyn stands up in the throne room? Either way I can’t wait to see everyone’s shock and the look of doubt in Cersei’s eyes.

They may as well just reveal it now, because anyone who watched the trailers will work it out straight away. That’s just annoyed me so much. Like, I watch some Unsullied discussing the show on YouTube, and pretty much all of them already worked out that Tyrion would be blamed for Joffrey’s death, and Oberyn will be his champion.

Why? Because she’s different from the books? That was the whole point. Show Shae is much better then book Shae, I just hope they don’t change her fate. It seems likely that they will stay true to the books now.

I’m fine with book deviations as long as they make sense. Show Shae does not make sense at all. I’ll just paraphrase her thoughts: “Oh, you are married to a highborn lady (whom I totally treat like she’s my own daughter instead of hating her because she’s born in luxury and married to the man I “love”). Your sister is the überbitchqueen and your father is a mixture of an OG and an SOB. They both hate you and will kill any lowborn girl who loves you (lol like me) but together we shall vanquish them. I know we will (trust me, I’m a lowborn foreign prostitute, I know such things) and therefore I, a professional whore, will turn down a freaking easy life in Pentos with servants and money and safety and shit like that (seriously, that was like the whores version of a golden ticket right there)”

Shae just strains believe. It’s the “whore with a heart of gold” cliche dialed up to 11.

First thing it’s two minutes, then four, then six, then the next thing you know, we’re the U.S. mail. And then we’ll never cast Mads Mikkelsen as Euron in time

Read the last lines of the IGN interview. I could easily be off the mark, but I think the hint is there.

I had a hard time accepting Sibel’s Shae, partially because I wasn’t sure the show could convey her fate as written with a sympathetic spin on the character, but her scene in The Lion and the Rose definitely cemented her place in the show for me. I really enjoyed her scenes in S1, but I had mixed feelings these last two seasons. Mostly, I was confused by her sincerity on the show. I’m sold now, though, and any concerns I had about Tyrion’s storyline ending strangely because of Shae’s modified character are gone.

That said, I wouldn’t put down GRRM’s Shae over D&D’s. I really enjoyed Shae in the books. She is a perfect mirror for Tyrion’s longstanding vulnerabilities from his youth. She shapes herself to fulfill his desires in order to secure a living. Some people dismiss her as this vapid sex object, but really, she’s one of the most pragmatic commoners we’ve ever met in the series. While her last mistake was underestimating the depth of her insult (“My giant…”), she was a skillful operator, a capable manipulator, when it came to men and her trade. It just didn’t serve the narrative to give her an internal voice. To Tyrion, she is a surrogate Tysha. While this isn’t exactly objectification, it is a strong projection he is imposing on her, which is similarly reductive and ultimately ruinous for both characters. While she could, Shae used his blindness to get the most out of him as a client. As for Tyrion, we learned more about him from his growing dependence on her affections.

Since TV shows can’t dwell in the minds of characters as novels allow, Game of Thrones could never have had the kind of Shae we met in the books. At this point, I’m a fan of both. The show’s humanized version of Shae wouldn’t work well in ASOIAF as it would dilute Tyrion’s story instead of enriching it. As for the show’s version of the character, it’s definitely better than having a Tyrion-Shae sex scene every episode and struggling to imagine the scars from his adolescence that give meaning to it all.

Read the last lines of the IGN interview. I could easily be off the mark, but I think the hint is there.

I had a hard time accepting Sibel’s Shae, partially because I wasn’t sure the show could convey her fate as written with a sympathetic spin on the character, but her scene in The Lion and the Rose definitely cemented her place in the show for me. I really enjoyed her scenes in S1, but I had mixed feelings these last two seasons. Mostly, I was confused by her sincerity on the show. I’m sold now, though, and any concerns I had about Tyrion’s storyline ending strangely because of Shae’s modified character are gone.

That said, I wouldn’t put down GRRM’s Shae over D&D’s. I really enjoyed Shae in the books. She is a perfect mirror for Tyrion’s longstanding vulnerabilities from his youth. She shapes herself to fulfill his desires in order to secure a living. Some people dismiss her as this vapid sex object, but really, she’s one of the most pragmatic commoners we’ve ever met in the series. While her last mistake was underestimating the depth of her insult (“My giant…”), she was a skillful operator, a capable manipulator, when it came to men and her trade. It just didn’t serve the narrative to give her an internal voice. To Tyrion, she is a surrogate Tysha. While this isn’t exactly objectification, it is a strong projection he is imposing on her, which is similarly reductive and ultimately ruinous for both characters. While she could, Shae used his blindness to get the most out of him as a client. As for Tyrion, we learned more about him from his growing dependence on her affections.

Since TV shows can’t dwell in the minds of characters as novels allow, Game of Thrones could never have had the kind of Shae we met in the books. At this point, I’m a fan of both. The show’s humanized version of Shae wouldn’t work well in ASOIAF as it would dilute Tyrion’s story instead of enriching it. As for the show’s version of the character, it’s definitely better than having a Tyrion-Shae sex scene every episode and struggling to imagine the scars from his adolescence that give meaning to it all.

Being aware of the gulf between book Shae and show Shae, I always thought a nice meeting point would be if Shae betrayed Tyrion at the trial out of pure necessity, is with Tywin again out of necessity (perhaps with an eye to having her revenge on him), only for the insecure, hurt Tyrion to find her in the Hand’s bed and tragically kill her before she got a chance to explain herself. Or maybe she does explain herself, buy Tyrion’s just too hurt to believe her anymore.

I’m fairly confident that’s how it will play out. I don’t see any reason to doubt it. If you read the IGN interview in the post, particularly the second page, Sibel drops more than a suggestion of Shae betraying Tyrion. The way she explains it, it isn’t out of malice. Shae was clearly devastated by what I consider their excellent scene together last week. That scene is what allayed my fears about the show sanitizing her death. Given what we know about Shae on the show, Tyrion, by rejecting her, just denied her one of the few threads of hope she allowed herself to have during what has been suggested to be a very difficult life. Shae will turn because it’s the only option she has without his devotion, and he will kill her in a moment when he forgets they’re both victims of circumstance. Circumstance and, I hope, Tywin’s calculated cruelty. While I saw Tywin’s use of Shae in ASOS as an awesome symbol of hypocrisy, I can see Tywin taking TV Shae into his bed out of spite for Tyrion. Or perhaps this Shae will submit to Tywin, seeing him as the one fixed point in Westeros, given how much Tyrion lived in fear of him throughout their time together.

It really isn’t like that. She is a bit careless in the show, which is one of her faults, but you are instantly assuming that the fact she is a whore means she has to be a greedy, money loving person that would put a “golden ticket” ahead of love. To be honest, her life in King’s Landing is pretty much a golden ticket as well, it won’t get much better than that in Pentos. The only real difference is that she is in danger at King’s Landing and Tyrion who she is in love with is also there. I don’t think show Shae even recognizes how real the threat is, she just thinks Tyrion is paranoid and also I don’t think she cares about it. Tyrion never told Shae about what they did to Ros, about Tywin’s threat about hanging the next whore or about the fact that they were on to her in season 4. She isn’t aware of how truly dire the situation is, and she thinks she could handle it in the worst case scenario (she doesn’t think the worst case scenario is execution).